As best we can tell from the outside looking in, this chart has the dates for key events in the critical path to launch for the Mechanical Licensing Collective as required by the Music Modernization Act.  We have called the chart the “Countdown to Modernity.”

UPDATE:  Recall that the Register of Copyrights gets to pick the entity to operate as the Mechanical Licensing Collective.  According to Digital Music News, the first fully-formed candidate to emerge is the American Music Licensing Collective or the “AMLC”.  (AMLC’s website is songrights.net.)  Digital Music New reports AMLC’s public statements about its organization:

“We believe all song owners, from the kid in their bedroom, to the major music publishers, should be paid what they have earned,” the group declares in its manifesto.

“We are songwriters, artists, music publishers, musicians, composers and technologists.  We get song owners paid.”

So who’s behind the American Music Licensing Collective, exactly?

We’ll start with one of the founders: Stewart Copeland, best known as the drummer for The Police.  Also on the creative side is hit songwriter Rick Carnes, whose songs have propelled more than 40 platinum albums from the likes of Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Pam Tillis, and Dean Martin.

Other founding members include:

• John Barker (founder, president & CEO of ClearBox Rights, LLC).
• Brownlee Ferguson (founder, Bluewater Music).
• George Howard (co-founder of both Music Audience Exchange and TuneCore and CIO of Riptide Publishing).
• Lisa Klein Moberly (founder and president of Optic Noise).
• Benji Rogers (singer-songwriter, founder of PledgeMusic and co-founder of dotBlockchain Media)
• Jeff Price (founder of Audiam and co-founder of TuneCore)
• Henry Gradstein (music industry attorney at Gradstein & Marzano, P.C.)
• Larry Mestel (founder, Primary Wave)
• Ricardo Ordoñez (founder and president of Union Music Group)

Listed as ‘observers’ are Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Phil Galdston, and Grammy- and Emmy-nominated songwriter and producer David Wolfert.

“The board of directors of the AMLC have a profound and extensive knowledge of music publishing, mechanical license administration, big data, mapping and matching technology, payment processing, copyright ownership identification, conflict resolution, education, law, songwriting, architecture of technology systems and more,” the group notes.

This chart is a work in progress, and if anyone sees anything wrong in it or something that should be clarified or corrected, please let us know.  It should be considered a draft, but we hope that it will solidify over the next few weeks.

Due to the formation of the AMLC, there are now two candidates for the MLC.  The COUNTDOWN TO MODERNITY chart needs to distinguish AMLC from the competing NMPA/NSAI MLC which does not have a name as far as we know.  Until the NMPA/NSAI collective adopts a name, we will refer to it as the NMPA/NSAI collective.

UPDATE:  Black Box Invasion!  MTP readers will recall that the MLC is allowed to invade the black box to cover certain administrative costs:

INTERIM APPLICATION OF ACCRUED ROYALTIES.—In the event that the administrative assessment, together with any funding from voluntary contributions…is inadequate to cover current collective total costs, the collective, with approval of its board of directors, may apply unclaimed accrued royalties on an interim basis to defray such costs, subject to future reimbursement of such royalties from future collections of the assessment.

The “black box” may have already begun accruing at all of the services, although the accrual will no doubt vary from one service to another.  However, what should be clear is that since there are now two candidates for the MLC, neither should be able to tap the black box prior to final designation of the MLC by the Copyright Office or otherwise.

The main takeaway from this chart should be the clock is ticking and time is going by.  Our prediction?  Time will become the MLC’s biggest enemy, if that hasn’t already happened in the drafting of the Music Modernization Act.  What we don’t see in the MMA is any discussion of what happens if a deadline is blown for whatever reason.

But mark your calendars–we see the first key date as January 7, 2019 when the Copyright Office will request filings from MLC candidates, which so far include the AMLC and the collective to be formed by NMPA/NSAI.  That’s 52 days from now and holidays count.  The countdown to the License Availability Date: 777.

ARTIST RIGHTS WATCH
COUNTDOWN TO MECHANICAL LICENSING COLLECTIVE LAUNCH
WEEK 5

KEY DATES SCHEDULE FROM ENACTMENT DATE (10/11/18)

TO LICENSE AVAILABILITY DATE (1/1/21)

EVENT	ACCCOMPLISHED	WHO OWNS?	TIME EXPIRED   BEFORE LAD	TIME REMAINING TO LAD
REQUEST FILING TO BE MLC	STATUS UNKNOWN—Deadline  1/7/2019	COPYRIGHT OFFICE	90 DAYS	726 days
DESIGNATION OF MLC	STATUS UNKNOWN—Deadline  7/7/2019	COPYRIGHT OFFICE	270 days	545 days
FORMATION OF MLC NONPROFIT	AMLC nonprofit formed NMPA/NSAI STATUS UNKNOWN	MLC	36 days	782 days
SUBSTITUTION OF BLANKET LICENSE FOR ALL EXISTING COMPULSORY LICENSES	AUTOMATIC 10/11/2018	COPYRIGHT OFFICE		782 days
MLC BUDGET	STATUS UNKNOWN (Assume deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC/DLC/CRJ		782 days
INITIATE ASSESSMENT PROCEEDING w/CRJs	[MUST COMMENCE NO LATER THAN 7/7/2019] STATUS UNKNOWN	MLC/DLC/CRJ	233 days	545 days
ASSESSMENT RULING	[PUBLISHED IN FR NO LATER THAN 7/7/2020]	MLC/DLC/CRJ	599 days	179 days
APPEAL OF ASSESSMENT RULING	30 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF ASSESSMENT RULING	MLC/DLC/CRJ/ DCCOA	667 days	149 days
MLC BUSINESS PLAN	STATUS UNKNOWN (Assume deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC/CO	90 DAYS	726 days
ANNOUNCED BOARD NOMINEES	AMLC board announced (see DMN and above) NMPA/NSAI called for nominations. The deadline for NMPA nominations passed on November 15  see NMPA.  NSAI are accepting nominations for songwriter board member seats with a December 15 deadline.  (these are nonstatutory deadlines) Songwriter board selection by Steve Bogard (NSAI), Rick Carnes (SGA), Lynn Gillespie Chater (SGA), Dallas Davidson (BMI), Chris DeStefano (NSAI), Bob DiPiero (BMI), Dan Foliart (ASCAP), Adam Gorgoni (SONA), Michele Lewis (SONA), Paul Williams (ASCAP) (Assume final deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC	90 DAYS	726 days
APPOINTED BOARD	AMLC Board Announced: John Barker (founder, president & CEO of ClearBox Rights, LLC). Brownlee Ferguson (founder, Bluewater Music). George Howard (co-founder of both Music Audience Exchange and TuneCore and CIO of Riptide Publishing). Lisa Klein Moberly (founder and president of Optic Noise). Benji Rogers (singer-songwriter, founder of PledgeMusic and co-founder of dotBlockchain Media) Jeff Price (founder of Audiam and co-founder of TuneCore) Henry Gradstein (music industry attorney at Gradstein & Marzano, P.C.) Larry Mestel (founder, Primary Wave) Ricardo Ordoñez (founder and president of Union Music Group) NMPA/NSAI: STATUS UNKNOWN (Assume deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC/CO	90 DAYS	726 days
APPOINTED DLC	STATUS UNKNOWN—Deadline  7/7/2019	COPYRIGHT OFFICE	270 days	545 days
ENGAGED  MLC VENDORS	AMLC:  Clearbox Rights, Audiam (others) NMPA/NSAI: STATUS UNKNOWN (Assume deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC	90 DAYS	726 days
PAID MLC VENDORS	AMLC: See board members above NMPA/NSAI: STATUS UNKNOWN (ASSUME 7/7/2020 IF NO APPEAL OF ASSESSMENT)	MLC	270 days	545 days
ANNOUNCE MLC DATA STANDARDS	STATUS UNKNOWN	MLC/DLC
REGULATIONS*	STATUS UNKNOWN	COPYRIGHT OFFICE
COMMENTS AND REPLY COMMENTS ON REGULATIONS	STATUS UNKNOWN	ALL
EXPLANATION OF OPERATIONS: HOW TO REGISTER WITH MLC AND COST OF REGISTRATION	STATUS UNKNOWN (Assume deadline of 1/7/19)	MLC/CO	90 DAYS	726 days
REGISTRATION START DATE	STATUS UNKNOWN

 

MLC=Mechanical Licensing Collective

DLC=Digital Licensee Coordinator

CRJ=Copyright Royalty Judges

DCCOA=District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals

CO=Copyright Office

LAD=License Availability Date

*Topic areas to be updated as announced